Device for forming and depositing continuous rings of threads about a center for the purpose of forming a package of thread material



E. ERB

Jan. 4, 1966 3,226, 794 GS 0F THREADS RMING A PACKAGE DEVICE FOR FORMINGAND DEPOSITING CONTINUOUS RIN ABOUT A CENTER FOR THE PURPOSE OF F0 OFTHREAD MATERIAL Filed April 4, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet l 4 .7 lo l2 l3 l4 l7I19 /.7 2o 2/ 3,226,794 SITING CONTINUOUS RINGS OF THREADS CKAGE Jan. 4,1966 ERB DEVICE FOR FORMING AND DEPO ABOUT A CENTER FOR THE PURPOSE OFFORMING A PA 0F THREAD MATERIAL 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 4, 1963Jan. 4, 1966 E. ERB 3,226,794

DEVICE FOR FORMING AND DEPOSITING CONTINUOUS RINGS OF THREADS ABOUT ACENTER FOR THE PURPOSE OF FORMING A PACKAGE OF THREAD MATERIAL 4Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed April 4, 1963 Jan. 4, 1966 E. ERB 3,226,794

DEVICE FOR FORMING AND DEPOSITING CONTINUOUS RINGS 0F THREADS ABOUT ACENTER FOR THE PURPOSE OF FORMING A PACKAGE OF THREAD MATERIALFiled'April 4, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 United States Patent DEVICE FORFORMING AND DEPOSITING CON- TINUOUS RINGS 0F THREADS ABOUT A CEN- TERFOR THE PURPOSE OF FORMING A PACK- AGE OF THREAD MATERIAL Ernst Erb,Realpstrasse 20, Basel, Switzerland Filed Apr. 4, 1963, Ser. No. 270,617Claims priority, application Switzerland, Apr. 11, 1962, 4,448/ 62 18Claims. (Cl. 28-21) When wound on reels the material looses resiliencyand volume.

Various efforts have been made with rotary presser (11365 Where thethread is passed through a radialslot .and, by pressure on the base, isdeposited by friction,

as aimed atin the U.S. Patents 1,201,045and 1,433,723. It has also beenattempted to place a thread in spirals about a centre as it is done inthe cans for sliver according to the German Patents Nos. 95,841, 401,522and 592,045 as well as in the British Patent No. 203,373. However, allthese attempts with threads were unsuccessful. The principle of the cansis based on the condition that the sliver to be deposited has a higherdegree of adhesion or sticking capacity than the frictional resistancegenerated by the underside on the rotating disc depositing the rings.When this condition is fulfilled, the sliver remains adhering on thesame spot on the base Where it makes contact with the base when comingthrough the guide of the ring depositing disc. This condition is veryeasily fulfilled with a soft fluffy sliver, and accordingly these canshave been readily accepted in practice and have proved their worth. Witha smooth and hard thread, however, this condition is no longerfulfilled.

The base, i.e. the preceding layers, have unevenness in the form ofchannels and loose spots where the emerging 1 thread is no longer alwayspressed sufiiciently on the base by the winding disc. This is forexample the case when at one or both sides of the emerging thread in thepreceding layers thread crossings exist which then causes aninterruption of the pressing-on and accordingly also of thepulling-along of the supplied thread. For this reason all attempts havefailed to deposit with such devices smooth threads in rings in order toform a staple round a centre in the form of an endless spiral.

Likewise pressing the bottom or of the package previously' formed on thering depositing head by spring bias or by a counterpoise as usual in theknown cans (for example according to the U.S. Patents Nos. 2,478,960 and2,598,738) is not applicable to large packages of thread material, sincethe increasing proper weight of the staple gradually reduces the actionof the counterpoise or of the spring as the weight of the packageincreases, and may even abolish this action altogether. On the otherhand the pressure force of the base at the beginning may not exceed acertain predetermined magnitude; otherwise the friction particularly ofa fast rotating ring depositing head, becometo'o large, so that thethread material would show spotsof rubbing; The usual cans with springbottom have moreover the disadvantage that the packed material tends tomove upward lowest possible coeflicient of friction.

Patented Jan. 4, 1966 and often spills over, which causes damage andloss of time.

With these and other objects in view I provide a device for thedepositing of thread rings around a centre in endless overlap for theformation of package of thread material, comprising in combination: aring depositing head having a presser plate, a ring depositing plate, ayoke carrying said ring depositing head, fixed columns, guide ledgesmounted on said columns and freely guiding said thread depositing headin the vertical direction, and a base in operation rotating relative tosaid thread depositing head arranged underneath the latter, the weightof said thread depositing head forcing the deposited thread against saidrelative plate rotating base.

Thus the weight of said ring depositing head, which always remains thesame, exerts the pressure force on the base. The diameter of the packagecan be chosen so large that the package stands up by itself so that nocans are needed any more; the axially stationary but rotary receivingplate is provided with grooves so that the package can be easily liftedolf by means of special lifting-off forks and can be supplied to apacking point where they receive an enveloping sheath.

For smooth threads the new method of laying rings provides a, specialcontact elements which resiliently forces the thread against the baseshortly after its emergence from the ring laying disc. This element maybe a spring biased roller or a smooth appropriately bent leaf spring.The principle of this new contact element is to provide a safe contactof the emerging thread with the base and to maintain said contact allround the surface, even if the base is not quite plane, so that thesupplied thread is pulled along continuously and uninterruptedly, and isdeposited around in a circle. The principle of the aforesaiddevice-hereinafter referred to as the contact elementmay be readilyexplained by the following comparison:

When one wishes to deposit a rope or cable in a circle, the reel thereofmay be journalled rotatably on an axle, which is carried along by theperson laying the rope or cable and walking along in appropriatecircles. As long as this person himself treads on the cable, the latterwill roll off the reel and keep lying Where it has been pressed into thesoil by the feet of the person treading on it, so as to form a circle onthe soil. "If, however, the cable is not continuously loaded it has nota sufficient contact with the soil and. is no longer pulled along; thatmeans it will take the shortest path and no longer form a circle when itis not continuously pressed on the soil by the person walking incircles. This is the principle of the use of a contact element on thering depositing disc for the compulsory formation of rings by a threadof any kind Whatever.

A likewise important consideration for favouring the formation of ringsis, that the presser plate as well as the ring depositing disc are madeof a material of the If desired their frictional surface only may becoated with such a material. For example Teflon, Perspex (registeredtrademarks) etc. may be used.

1 A further important condition is that the thread, after beingsupplied, is conducted to the ring depositing disc Without beinghampered; for this purpose provision is made that the thread is guidedthroughout the hollow axle in a guide tube of a material having thelowest possible coefiicient of friction such as Teflon (registered trademark) etc. and is then guided in a slightly swept curve to the exit,where it is guided under an acute angle of less than20 towards the ringlaying discs directly under the contact element.

These and other features of my said invention will be clearly understoodfrom the following description of two preferred embodiments thereof withreference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of a thread ring depositing device,

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the device according to FIG- URE '1,

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of a ring depositing disc having aspring-biased roller and a contact element,

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the ring depositing disc according to FIGURE 3,

FIG. 5 is a contact element in the form of a curved leaf spring,

FIG. 6 is a device with a rotary yarn running-off support,

FIG. 7 illustrates a package, in which the laying of rings has beencarried out beyond the centre.

Referring now to the drawings, a new improved feature of the deviceaccording to the invention consists in that the whole ring depositinghead is guided vertically slidable in a yoke 12 with guide ledge 13between columns 14- so that by its constant proper weight it exerts aconstant pressure from above on the receiving disc 16. The receivingdisc 16 arranged under the said head is journalled by means of a pivotpin 17 in a bearing bushing 18 of the chassis 15, and is driven by aworm 20 and worm wheel toothing 19. In order that the first rings ofthreads adhere well to the plate, a soft base support of foam material22 is provided, which has likewise a low coefficient of friction. In thereceiving disc 16 four grooves 23 are arranged in a square pattern,these grooves extending across the plate 16 and serving for theinsertion of special forks for lifting off the staple together with theplate 22 of foam material.

The ring depositing head comprises a ring depositing disc 1, which turnsin a recess of the presser plate 2 (FIGURES l4). The ring laying disc 1is journalled with its hollow shaft 3 in the frame 12 and is driven bymeans of a motor 11 through a cord 9 over cord pulleys and 4. The thread5 is passed through the hollow shaft 3 in a tube 6 of Teflon (registeredtrademark) etc. ahead of the contact element 7 under an acute angle ofless than downward through the ring laying disc 1. When the disc 1rotates in the sense of the arrow, the roller 7 of the contact elementruns on the thread 5 and thus deposits the same on its circular track.

The passage of the thread through the ring laying disc is accordinglyeffected under an angle smaller than 20 and the Teflon (registeredtrademark) tube 6 is provided over half the profile up to the end of theexit in order that a minimum friction may result for the thread.

For soft fibrous wool or mixture yarns suflicient contact with the baseis safeguarded when the passage of the thread and the outlet of thethread as well as the whole underside of the thread laying disc are madeso smooth, or with so low a friction that the adhesion on the baseexceeds the frictional resistance of the ring laying disc.

At each revolution of the disc 1 a thread ring is deposited. In orderthat at a high rotational speed of the disc 1 the thread rings quicklysucceding one another may overlap tile-shape, the receiving plate 16rotates at a desired ratio, which determines the distance of the threadrings 5a from one another (FIGURE 2). The first rings are formeddirectly on the foam material layer 22,

since at the beginning the wool head rests with the presser plate onthis layer. In order that the receiving plate should not be braked toomuch in spite of the large contact area, provision this foam materiallayer is likewise made of substances having a minimum coeflicient offriction. Owing to its porosity, the thread rings formed thereon adherenevertheless so well that they cannot be disturbed by the presser platecoated with Teflon. As will be seen from FIGURE 2, the ring laying plate1, is arranged eccentrically relative to the centre of the receivingplate. In this manner at each revolution of the receiving plate 16 alayer of overlapping thread rings is built up around the centre thereof,which process is continuously repeated until the desired weight of thestaple is attained. The axle 3 of the ring laying disc is slightlyinclined in the direction of run of the receiving plate in order thatthe disc may be higher at A and lower at B than the presser plate 2. Inthis manner the thread rings can pass it without adhering and withoutbeing disturbed.

With a package diameter of 50 cm. and a height of 60 em. and with amedium grade wool of weight of 10 kilograms is attained. Since thedepositing of the thread rings is carried out by this method practicallygeometrically correct, an undisturbed run-off of the thread for furthertreatment is assured.

The machines for further treatment, for example ball winding machines,may accordingly operate with less breakdowns and standstills and moreeconomical than hitherto.

FIG. 7 shows a different pattern of ring deposits. Here the diameter ofthe ring laying disc 1 is made so large that its periphery covers thewhole area of the coil, and no presser plate 2 is needed. In the layingpattern according to FIG. 2, provision is made that the ring laying disc(FIGURE 2), together with the presser plates 2, may be radially adjustedin the course of operation in its frame 12, in order that the threadrings may be deposited in the package with a radial offset in order thatthey may bear less strongly at their periphery.

FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of a contact element in the form of a leafspring. This leaf spring 26 is screwed on the hose introducing bracket25, and shortly behind the outlet of the thread it projects resilientlydownward from the ring depositing disc 1 and thus forces the thread onthe base when the disc rotates in the direction of the arrow, thedeposited thread then describing the same circle about the axis of thering depositing disc as the thread outlet. It has been proved by teststhat this leaf spring contact element, when having a well polishedsliding surface, serves very well for contacting fine and minimum gaugethreads. For smooth yarns such as Orlon, nylon, Terylene, etc.successful tests have been made by coating the contact spring with amaterial likewise of the lowest possible coefficient :of friction suchas Teflon. Provision is also made that the thread guide tube 6 mayconsist of Teflon in order to reduce the friction of the thread to aminimum.

For course and hard threads such as cords however, the roller 7 ispreferable as a contact element. For such yarns provision is made alsoto drive the roller 7 at a corresponding circumferential velocity sothat it co-operates with the base as a discharging mechanism by rollingoff the yarn practically without friction directly on the base.

If desired several such contact elements may be arranged in series on acircle.

In the diagrammatically illustrated device according to FIGURES 1 and 2no discharging mechanism is shown. The latter may be arranged indifferent ways, for example directly with the roller 7.

A conveying aid for the thread could be provided by the injection ofair. The air required could be supplied by an air catcher built on topof the ring laying disc 1.

FIG. 6 moreover shows a device in which a yarn support 39 with a sourceof yarn 31 is rotatably mounted above the machine frame and is drivenfrom a common shaft 35 in the same sense and at the rotational speed asthe receiving plate 16.

Thereby it is made possible that at the same time several threads aresupplied at the same time to the ring laying plate and deposited withoutany twist relative to one another. Alternatively the receiving plates 16and yarn support 30 may stand still while the presser plate 2 with thering laying disc 1 and the supply mechanism are rotated instead. Bymeans of this latter drive combination it may be attained likewise thatno twistingof several While I have described herein and illustrated inthe accompanying drawings what may be considered typical andparticularly useful embodiments of my said invention, I wish it to beunderstood that I do not limit myself to the particular details anddimensions described and illustrated; for obvious modifications willoccur to a person skilled in the art.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is:f 1. A device for depositing thread rings around a center in an endlessoverlap for the formation of a package of thread material comprising, incombination, support means; a rotary base plate having a substantiallyvertical axis and being mounted on said support means for rotation aboutits axis; drive means operatively connected to said base plate forrotating the latter about its axis; a presser plate upwardly spaced fromsaid base plate and being formed with a cutout therethrough arrangedlaterally from the axis of said base plate; a rotary thread ringdepositing disc arranged in said cutout turnably about an axis laterallyspaced from the axis of said base plate, said presser plate and saidthread ring depositing disc being mounted on said support means formovement toward and away from said base plate; means operativelyconnected to said disc for rotating the same about its axis; and athread guide fixedly mounted on said disc and having a discharge endadjacent the outer periphery thereof extending through said disc forguiding a thread toward said base plate so that the weight of saidpresser plate and said thread ring depositing disc forces and threadportion discharged through said discharge end of said thread guidetoward the upper surface of said base plate.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said presser plate and saidring depositing disc consist of a material having the lowest possiblefrictional co-eflicient.

3. A device according to claim 1, wherein said presser plate and saidring depositing disc are coated on their underside with a material ofthe lowest possible co-efiicient of friction.

4. A device according to claim 1, wherein said presser plate and ringdepositing disc have an underside consisting of a synthetic substance oflowest possible co-eflicient of friction.

5. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said presser plate and ringdepositing disc have an underside of anodized highly polished aluminium.

6. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said presser plate and ringdepositing disc have an underside consisting of polytetrafiuoroethylene.

7. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the axis of said ringdepositing disc is slightly inclined relative to the vertical in thedirection of relative rotation of the said base so as to facilitate inoperation the passage of the thread rings deposited.

8. A device as claimed in claim 1, comprising a yarn support inoperation rotating in the same sense and at the same rotational speed asthe said rotating base.

9. A device as claimed in claim 1, comprising a roller journalled onsaid disc and resiliently bearing on the thread deposited on saidrelatively rotating base.

10. A device as claimed in claim 1, comprising a roller journalled onsaid disc and driven at a circumferential speed corresponding to that ofthe said relatively rotating base.

11. A device as claimed in claim 1, comprising a spring loaded contactelement disc and forcing said thread against said relatively rotatingbase.

12. A device as claimed in claim 11, wherein said contact element is acurved leaf spring.

13. A device as claimed in claim 12, wherein the underside of saidcurved leaf spring has with a coating of low frictional co-eflicient.

14. A device for depositing thread rings around a center in an endlessoverlap for the formation of a package of thread material comprising, incombination, support means; a rotary base plate having a substantiallyVertical axis and being mounted on said support means for rotation aboutits axis; drive means operatively connected to said base plate forrotating the latter about its axis; a presser plate upwardly spaced fromsaid base plate and being form-ed with a cutout therethrough arrangedlaterally from the axis of said base plate; a rotary thread ringdepositing disc arranged in said cutout; a hollow shaft coaxially fixedto said disc upwardly extending therefrom and having an axis locatedlaterally from the axis of said base plate means operatively connectedto said hollow shaft for turning the latter about its axis; and a threadguide extending partly through said hollow shaft and having a dischargeend adjacent the outer periphery of said disc and extending through saiddisc for guiding a thread toward said base plate so that the weight ofsaid presser plate and said thread ring depositing disc forces thethread portion discharged through said discharge end .of said threadguide toward the upper surface of said base plate.

15. A device for depositing thread rings around a center in an endlessoverlap for the formation of a package of thread material comprising, incombination, support means; a rotary base plate having a substantiallyvertical axis and being mounted on said support means for rotation aboutits axis; drive means operatively connected to said base plate forrotating the latter about its axis; a presser plate upwardly spaced fromsaid base plate and being formed with a circular cutout therethrougharranged laterally from the axis of said base plate; a circular rotarythread ring depositing disc arranged in said cutout; a hollow shaftcoaxially fixed to said disc upwardly extending therefrom and having anaxis located laterally from the axis of said base plate; meansoperatively connected to said hollow shaft for turning the latter aboutits axis; and a tubular thread guide having an upper portion extendingthrough said hollow shaft and a lower curved portion extending along theupper surface of said disc and ending in a discharge end portionextending through said disc substantially tangential to and adjacent theouter periphery thereof for guiding a thread toward said base plate sothat the weight of said presser plate and said thread ring depositingdisc forces the thread portion discharged through said discharge end ofsaid thread guide toward the upper surface of said base plate.

16. A device for depositing thread rings around a center in an endlessoverlap for the formation of a package of thread material comprising, incombination, support means; a rotary base plate having a substantiallyvertical axis and being mounted on said support means for rotation aboutits axis; drive means operatively connected to said base plate forrotating the latter about its axis; a presser plate upwardly spaced fromsaid base plate and being formed with a circular cutout therethrougharranged laterally from the axis of said base plate; a circular rotarythread ring depositing disc arranged in said cutout; a hollow shaftcoaxially fixed to said disc upwardly extending therefrom and having anaxis located laterally from the axis of said base plate; meansoperatively connected to said hollow shaft for turning the latter aboutits axis; and a tubular thread guide having an upper portion extendingthrough said hollow shaft and a lower curved portion extending along theupper surface of said disc and ending in a discharge end portionextending through said disc substantially tangential to and adjacent theouter periphery thereof inclined at an angle of less than 20 to theupper surface of said disc for guiding a thread toward said base plateso that the weight of said presser plate and said thread ring depositingdisc forces the thread portion discharged through said discharge end ofsaid thread guide toward the upper surface of said base plate.

17. A device as set forth in claim 16, wherein said tubular thread guideis made from a material having a low coefficient of friction.

18. A device for depositing thread rings around a center in an endlessoverlap for the formation of a package of thread material comprising, incombination, a substantially horizontally extending stationary support;a rotary base plate having a substantially vertical axis and beingmounted on said support for rotation about its axis; drive meansoperatively connected to said base plate for rotating the latter aboutits axis; a pair of uprights projecting spaced from each other upwardlyfrom said support; a yoke guided at opposite ends of said uprights formovement toward and away from said base plate; a circular presser platecoaxial with said base plate and being fixedly mounted on said yoke formovement therewith toward and away from said base plate, said presserplate being formed with a circular cutout therethrough arrangedlaterally from the axis of said base plate; a circular rotary ringdepositing disc arranged in said cutout turnably about an axis laterallyspaced from the axis of said base plate; means on said yoke forsupporting said disc turnably about its axis; means mounted on said yokeand operatively connected to said disc for rotating the latter about itsaxis; and a thread guide fixedly mounted on said disc and hav- 8 ing adischarge'end adjacent the outer periphery thereof and extending throughsaid disc at an angle of less than 20 inclined to the upper surfacethereof for guiding a thread toward said base plate so that the weightof said presser plate and said ring depositing disc forces the threadportion discharged through said discharge end of said thread guidetoward the upper surface of said base plate.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 795,980

8/1905 Hubbard 57-66 1,232,685 7/1917 Hubbard 5766 2,745,146 5/1956Wilkie 19-159 2,895,210 7/1959 Hubbard 2872 2,936,509 5/1960 Martin28-21 2,997,249 8/1961 Meinshausen l9159 3,081,511 3/1963 Suggs et al.28-21 FOREIGN PATENTS 658,121 2/ 1963 Canada.

DONALD W. PARKER, Primary Examiner.

1. A DEVICE FOR DEPOSITING THREAD RINGS AROUND A CENTER IN AN ENDLESSOVERLAP FOR THE FORMATION OF A PACKAGE OF THREAD MATERIAL COMPRISING, INCOMBINATION, SUPPORT MEANS; A ROTARY BASE PLATE HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLYVERTICAL AXIS AND BEING MOUNTED ON SAID SUPPORT MEANS FOR ROTATION ABOUTITS AXIS; DRIVES MEANS OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO SAID BASE PLATE FORROTATING THE LATTER ABOUT ITS AXIS; A PRESSER PLATE UPWARDLY SPACED FROMSAID BASE PLATE AND BEING FORMED WITH A CUTOUT THERETHROUGH ARRANGEDLATERALLY FROM THE AXIS OF SAID BASE PLATE; A ROTARY THREAD RINGDEPOSITING DISC ARRANGED IN SAID CUTOUT TURNABLY ABOUT AN AXIS LATERALLYSPACED FROM THE AXIS OF SAID BASE PLATE, SAID PRESSURE PLATE AND SAIDTHREAD RING DEPOSITING DISC BEING MOUNTED ON SAID SUPPORT MEANS FORMOVEMENT TOWARD AND AWAY FROM SAID BASE PLATE; MEANS OPERATIVELYCONNECTED TO SAID DISC FOR ROTATING THE SAME ABOUT ITS AXIS; AND ATHREAD GUIDE FIXEDLY MOUNTED ON SAID DISC AND HAVING A DISCHARGE ENDADJACENT THE OUTER PERIPHERY THEREOF EXTENDING THROUGH SAID DISC FORGUIDING A THREAD TOWARD SAID BASE PLATE SO THAT THE WEIGHT OF SAIDPRESSURE PLATE AND SAID THREAD RING DEPOSITING DISC FORCES AND THREADPORTION DISCHARGED THROUGH SAID DISCHARGE END OF SAID THREAD GUIDETOWARD THE UPPER SURFACE OF SAID BASE PLATE.